Mercedes CEO says ‘No’ to Apple but ‘Yes’ to Google with Ola Källenius making a bold statement on CarPlay

Mercedes CEO Ola Källenius categorically said “No” to Apple. The reason? Mercedes is looking for a “holistic software architecture” - something that Google may provide better.

Apple introduced its next generation CarPlay in 2022 claiming to “fundamentally change the way people interact with their vehicles” with plans to deeply integrate CarPlay with a car’s hardware. (Apple)

Apple carved out a systematic plan over a period of four years to replace Android Auto in cars with its CarPlay software and not to forget its ambitious idea of manufacturing the Apple Car. So, the idea was simple- sell CarPlay to traditional car manufacturers while flaunting the platform on its own Apple car. Now, with Apple abandoning the idea of the Apple car, the only option is to target the dashboard (or screens) of modern cars with CarPlay. With large smart screens gaining prominence inside luxury cars, car brands can only partner with reliable software makers like Google, Apple and others, even Samsung!

Mercedes CEO wants holistic software architecture

In a recent interview to The Verge, Mercedes CEO Ola Källenius categorically said “No” to Apple. The reason? Mercedes is looking for a “holistic software architecture” - something that Google may provide better. CEO Ola Källenius makes a clear statement that he will not allow the screens of Mercedes cars to be taken over by Apple. In other words, Mercedes doesn't want to risk getting trapped inside the walled Apple ecosystem where Apple only gets to decide what the screens inside cars show and do.

“I fundamentally believe that that holistic customer experience is best done by us, and we will serve you,” Mercedes Ola Källeniushe told The Verge during the interview.

Källenius stressed that Mercedes' own engineers would be actively working on screens inside the cars they sell. It's about delivering an in-car experience which Mercedes would never want to give up to another company. He even mentioned that Mercedes is working with Apple's big rival- Google in coming with a new navigation system that is powered by Google Maps. Google has no objections in allowing Mercedes engineers to decide on how the actual in-car experience plays out; thus, the Mercedes team would be “heavily involved in the process”.

As per the report, Källenius is okay to include “phone-mirroring services” in cars and Mercedes will not exclude the feature altogether like General Motors. For those unaware, General Motors took steps to prevent Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in its EVs as the company thinks it can offer a better and more “comprehensive software experience” than just mirroring smartphones.

Apple's next-gen CarPlay- what can it do?

Back in 2022, Apple introduced its next generation CarPlay claiming to “fundamentally change the way people interact with their vehicles” as Apple planned to deeply integrate CarPlay with a car's hardware. So, how deep will this integration be? Apple said with CarPlay software, it would allow users to do things like control the radio or change the climate directly through CarPlay, and using the vehicle data, CarPlay will render the speed, fuel level, temperature, and more on the instrument cluster. Even “personalise” their driving experience.